This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Gord Downie, frontman and main songwriter for The Tragically Hip, has penned beloved lyrics studded with Canadian references.

Here are 10 examples:

“12 men broke loose in ’73 from Millhaven Maximum Security; 12 pictures lined up across the front page. Seems the Mounties had a summertime war to wage.” — “38 Years Old”

“There’s Mistaken Point, Newfoundland. There’s Moonbeam Ontari-ari-o; there are places I’ve never been and always wanted to go.” — “Fly.”

“Bill Barilko disappeared that summer; he was on a fishing trip. The last goal he ever scored won the Leafs the Cup. They didn’t win another ’til 1962, the year he was discovered.” — “Fifty-Mission Cap.”

Article Continued Below

“Jacques Cartier, right this way. I’ll put your coat up on the bed. Hey, man, you’ve got the real bum’s eye for clothes. And come on in, sit right down. No, you’re not the first to show. We’ve all been here since . . . God, who knows?” — “Looking for a Place to Happen.”

“Late-breaking story on the CBC. A nation whispers ‘we always knew that he’d go free.’ They add ‘you can’t be fond of living in the past ’cause if you are, then there’s no way that you’re going to last.’” — “Wheat Kings.”

“That night in Toronto, with its checkerboard floors, riding on horseback and keeping order restored.” — “Bobcaygeon.”

“What’s a windswept face, the elusive presence of the sun, to the hard Canadian?” — “The Hard Canadian.”

“Smart as trees in Sault Ste. Marie; I can speak my mother tongue. Passing laws just because, and singing songs of the English unsung.” — “Born in the Water.”

“I think it was Algonquin park; it was so cold and winter dark. A promised hibernation high took me across the great black plate of ice.” — “The Bear.”

“Writing a song about Lake Memphremagog and tonight I don’t believe there are words to spare and be a tip and a nod, admitting it’s half the defeat.” —“Problem Bears.”

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com